Demand Gen vs Video Action Campaigns: Where Conversion Video Buying Went
In short: Video Action campaigns were Google's conversion-focused YouTube format, and Google retired the standalone type, folding its function into Demand Gen. Demand Gen kept the conversion-bidding intent but added image formats and feed placements beyond YouTube alone. Existing Video Action campaigns were migrated automatically and now run as Demand Gen underneath. If you're setting up conversion-driving video today, Demand Gen is the only path - Video Action only matters for reading old account history correctly.
By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026
Demand Gen Campaigns
Serves image and video ads across YouTube, Shorts, Discover, and Gmail using audience segments rather than keywords, inside Google's feed-based browsing inventory.
You load images and video, choose first-party or lookalike segments, and pick a conversion or click goal; Google places ads in feeds people browse rather than search. The type replaced Discovery campaigns and absorbed Video Action campaigns. Advertisers use it to create demand upstream of search. The mistake is expecting search-level intent and cutting it before view-through and assisted effects are measured.
Full definitionVideo Action Campaigns
Legacy conversion-focused YouTube campaign type, now folded into Demand Gen, so conversion-oriented video buying happens through that campaign type instead.
They ran skippable in-stream and in-feed video with a call-to-action banner, bidding toward conversions across YouTube surfaces. Google retired the type and moved that inventory and intent into Demand Gen, which also carries image formats. Inherited accounts will show migrated campaigns. The mistake is trying to recreate the old setup as a plain video campaign, which optimizes toward views rather than conversions.
Full definitionSide by side.
The differences that actually change what happens in your account.
| Demand Gen Campaigns | Video Action Campaigns | |
|---|---|---|
| Can you create one today | Yes, current campaign type for conversion-focused video and image buying. | No, retired and folded entirely into Demand Gen. |
| Inventory covered | YouTube, Shorts, Discover, and Gmail, with image and video formats. | YouTube in-stream and in-feed video, plus Google video partner sites and apps by default, no Discover or Gmail placements. |
| Ad formats | Image and video sharing one campaign and one budget. | Skippable in-stream and in-feed video with a call-to-action banner, no image formats. |
| Bidding goal | Conversion or value goals through Smart Bidding strategies. | Conversion-focused bidding scoped to YouTube video surfaces only. |
| What happened to existing campaigns | Received migrated Video Action campaigns automatically, keeping core settings. | None remain standalone - every Video Action campaign was migrated into Demand Gen. |
| Risk in recreating the old setup | Not applicable - building with a conversion goal here matches what Video Action used to do. | Rebuilding it as a plain video campaign optimizes toward views or reach, not conversions - the wrong replacement. |
| Where the name still appears | Not in the current campaign builder for new campaigns. | Older help articles, migrated account history, and agency documentation. |
What actually separates them.
Video Action campaigns cannot be created anymore, so conversion-focused video buying on YouTube now happens inside Demand Gen, which absorbed that campaign type entirely.
Video Action was video-only, while Demand Gen runs image and video in the same campaign, so one Demand Gen campaign now does what used to require pairing Video Action with a separate image-based campaign.
Recreating a retired Video Action setup as a plain YouTube video campaign is a mismatch, since a plain video campaign typically optimizes toward views or reach rather than the conversion goal Video Action was built for, making Demand Gen the actual replacement.
Demand Gen expanded inventory beyond YouTube in-stream and in-feed to include Discover and Gmail placements, so a migrated Video Action campaign gained access to surfaces it never ran on before.
Historic Video Action performance sits under that label in older reporting rows even though the live campaign has run as Demand Gen since migration, so a trend report spanning the migration date shows a name change mid-series for what is one continuous campaign.
Which one should you use?
Use Demand Gen Campaigns when
- You want to run conversion-focused video ads on YouTube today - this is the only available path.
- You want video and image creative sharing one budget and one conversion goal.
- You're reviewing an account and see former Video Action campaigns now labeled Demand Gen - that's the migration, not an error.
- You want access to Discover and Gmail placements alongside YouTube video, which Video Action never offered.
Use Video Action Campaigns when
- You're auditing an account's history and see Video Action in old campaign names or archived reports.
- You're reading an agency case study or blog post written before the retirement and need to translate its advice to Demand Gen.
- You're troubleshooting why a setup described in an old guide, like video-only in-stream ads, doesn't match what you see in the campaign builder today.
- You're pulling a long-lookback trend report that spans the migration and shows a label change partway through for the same underlying campaign.
Common questions.
Can I still create a Video Action campaign?
No. Google retired the campaign type and folded its functionality into Demand Gen. Any new conversion-focused YouTube video campaign you build today will be a Demand Gen campaign.
I rebuilt my old Video Action setup as a plain video campaign - why are results worse?
A plain video campaign typically bids toward views or reach rather than conversions, which is a different optimization goal than Video Action used. Demand Gen with a conversion goal is the actual equivalent, not a standard video campaign.
What happened to my existing Video Action campaigns?
Google auto-migrated them into Demand Gen, generally keeping targeting and budget settings intact. You may still see the old name in historic reporting rows from before the migration date.
Does Demand Gen only run on YouTube like Video Action did?
No. Demand Gen runs across YouTube, Shorts, Discover, and Gmail with both image and video formats, which is a wider placement footprint than Video Action ever had.
Or stop choosing between them.
AdFlint picks the setting, writes the ads, and keeps optimizing inside the Google and Meta accounts you already own.